General information on Croatia

Location

Croatia is a middleuropean Adriatic country. It lies between Slovenia on the west, Hungary on the north, Serbia, Montenegro, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina on the east, while the Adriatic sea divides it from its neighbour Italy.

Capital

The capital is Zagreb with 779.145 inhabitants – the economic, traffic, cultural and academic center of Croatia.

Other major cities: Osijek, Rijeka, Split, Zadar, Dubrovnik

Total surface: area of 56.538 km2 and territorial waters 31.900 km2.

The coastline including the islands is 5.700 km long and is one of the most indented coastlines in the Mediterranean. With its 1.185 islands, islets and rocks it really deserves its name ‘Country of a thousand islands’. The biggest islands are Krk and Cres.

Population: Croatia has 4 284 889 inhabitants, 90.42% Croats

Official language: Croatian

Main religion: Roman Catholicism (86,3% of the population)

The system of state: multilateral parliamentary republic

President: Mrs. Kolinda Grabar- Kitarović

Prime minister: Mr. Tihomir Orešković

Currency: Croatian Kuna HRK (1 kuna = 100 lipa)

Foreign currency can be exchanged in banks, exchange offices, post offices, most travel agencies and at the reception of hotels, camps as well as in marinas. ATM machines are located at the Zagreb airport and on many locations in the city center. In Croatia the most used credit cards are: Eurocard/Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Diners. They are accepted at most hotels, marinas, restaurants and shops.

Rates of exchange: The current exchange rate between the Kuna and various world currencies can be found at the Croatian National Bank website.

Weather: Continental part of Croatia has a moderately warm and rainy continental climate. The warmest areas of Croatia are at the Adriatic coast and especially in its immediate hinterland, which are characterized by a Mediterranean climate since temperatures are moderated by the sea.

The average temperature in continental part: January 0 to 2°C, August 19 to 23°C; average temperature at the seaside: January 6 to 11°C, August 21 to 27 °C; the sea temperature is about 12°C in the winter, and 25°C in the summer. (link na prognozu)

Weather in Zagreb: Zagreb has a continental climate and four distinct seasons with hot and dry summers, cold winters and wet autumn. The city itself can feel much hotter than coastal regions of Croatia due to the lack of sea breezes that take the edge off the heat.

The summer months in Zagreb are hot with temperatures averaging around 20 degrees Celsius across the season (June to August) however during July and August temperatures can reach a peak of around 26 degrees Celsius. Average temperature in June is from min 14°C to max 26°C. There is a small probability of some form of precipitation.

Useful information

Visa requirements:

Citizens of the U.K., EU countries, the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand do not need visas to visit Croatia. Tourists can visit Croatia for up to 90 days in any 180 day period.

For other countries, please check the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs‘ website for visa requirements for Croatia. If you do need a visa, please contact the Croatian Embassy in your country (also detailed on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website) for more information on how to obtain a visa.

Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish citizens can start the process of applying for a visa for Croatia online at crovisa.mvep.hr.

Getting to Croatia

You can arrive to Croatia by plane directly from most European Countries and Canada. Unfortunately at present there are no direct US to Croatia flights. In case you are comming from USA, you need to change plane in one of majors European airports (Munich and Frankfurt are probably the best choices as they offer many flights to Croatia).

Bus transfer from the airport to the city of Zagreb

This shuttle service operates in scheduled intervals up to 20:00 hours each day, however it is also organized in such a way that it follows the arrival of all scheduled traffic landings at the airport. It takes cca 30 min to reach the Central Bus Station in Zagreb. From here, you can take a tram or walk to the center. Tram number 6 is direct connection to the main city square – Ban Jelačić Square.
The airport bus shuttle station in direction Zagreb is located just outside the international arrivals. You can buy ticket in the bus. For easier orientation please see 3D interactive map of the passenger terminal.

Information on bus shuttle time-table, tickets and stations is available on Pleso prijevoz’sofficial web pages.

Taxi

Local transportation

ZET- Zagreb municipal transport system

Zagreb municipal transport system ZET includes trams and buses.

The ZET ticket system uses the following types of tickets: single tickets (10 HRK), day tickets (30 kn), 3-day tickets (70 HRK), 7-day tickets (150 HRK). The passengers should validate their single or daily tickets when entering the vehicle and present to the driver their travel pass or other document serving as a ticket according to the ZET Tariff Regulation. Passengers in the vehicle are obliged to present their tickets at the request of a ZET official. You can buy tickets at the Tisak kiosk.